Happy Sunday stampers! Welcome to another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ. This week's hostess is Cindy who selected this verse from Psalm 56:3 . . . "When I am afraid I will trust in thee."
Her challenge is the following: I would like you to make something that representing what could be your life verse, a place where God has revealed to you that you can trust in him, something representing a turning point in your life, or just focusing on Psalm 56:3. This is more of an open challenge, something that only you understand. I want you to be encouraged and remember those special "Jesus and me" moments when the Lord truly revealed Himself to you and praise Him for it.
Our sponsor this week is Sassy Studio Designs, which is donating four digis to the winner.
There were so many directions I could have gone with Cindy's challenge, and decided to focus on the verse from Psalms about being afraid and trust. I chose to use this image from Sassy Studio Designs, a young person sitting comfortably reading in her colorfully decorated dorm room--in my imagination, reading the bible--because young people are much on my mind the past few weeks. This week in rapid succession we helped get my three older children to three respective colleges in three different states. Yes, this is the only stamping I've done all week!
If worrying were an Olympic sport I'd win the gold medal. Although I have had many lessons in letting my children go over the years, it is still difficult for me. Yet as moms, we do it, don't we?
I can remember my oldest daughter traveling to South Africa for a missions trip her junior year of high school. We had no contact whatsoever the entire time she was gone; it felt as though the continent of Africa had swallowed her up. My two middle children, and my husband, separately, have taken five or six trips total to go to New Orleans to help with cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. My son is now seriously considering a career in the missions field.
Someone has to stay home to hold down the fort . . . I am always the sender, never the one who goes. Sometimes I think it is worse to stay home than to go, because my fertile imagination can concoct a million and one ways my loved ones can get sick or hurt while on these trips.
And sometimes kids are just kids and they do such amazingly dangerous or thoughtless things it can make you almost sick with worry. We had an incident like that just this past week, before they set out for school. So what do you do when it feels like worry is a tsunami that is going to overwhelm your emotions?
Lean on the Lord. I wish I could say I was perfect at this, that I have learned worrying is foolish and I can trust in the Father, but each time something happens it is as though I am learning this lesson afresh.
And that is so silly because I know what works for me!!! When I sit and read my bible and pray, pray, pray--that trust in the Father, that peace washes over me. I have had many 'Jesus and me' moments when I've come to the end of my rope of worry and finally handed the problem over to Him.
So there is a dual representation in my card of my interpretation of Cindy's challenge . . . reading the bible reminds me of all of the promises God has fulfilled and reminds me that I can trust Him. And the young person in the image represents one of those things I need to hand over to the Lord . . . my family, specifically my children. They are the roses in my window, the title of my blog, and I have to remind myself that as precious as they are to me, they are yet more precious in His sight.
I hope that by being transparent about my struggles it might help someone else out there realize that this life is a journey, not a destination. That these scripture based challenges are to let you know the bible is God's love letter to you and much comfort, wisdom and hope can be found therein if we just sit and read it.
Thanks for looking. Hope you can play along this week. We look forward to reading your thoughts and seeing your creations.
